Halo TV show loses showrunner after just one season

Halo TV series
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Paramount's Halo TV show is losing its showrunner after just one season.

Steven Kane – who had planned to take on the mantel of co-showrunner with Kyle Killen before Killen left the project before it went into production – is reportedly leaving in order to return to the US for "personal reasons". For the last two years, Kane has resided in Budapest where the series is being produced.

According to Variety (thanks, Eurogamer), Kane – who was first attached to the project back in 2019 – is staying on to oversee the "post-production process", but will not be returning if the show picks up a second season.

Pablo Schreiber, who is set to play Master Chief in the series, has shown off the protagonist’s iconic helmet in a recent set photo. The production – which returned to filming after a brief hiatus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic – has also shared a series of images from behind-the-scenes, including enough firepower to take down a Covenant armada.

The video game adaptation has moved from its original home on Showtime to Paramount Plus. It’s set to launch sometime in Q1 2022 – meaning we’ll be watching the Amblin and 343 Industries-produced series before April 1, 2022.

ICYMI, Mass Effect project director Mac Walters recently offered us a little information about what happened to that Mass Effect movie. It was initially announced by Legendary Pictures in 2010 right at the height of the franchise's original trilogy but never came to be. 

In a new interview, Walters hinted that getting the story-rich universe of Mass Effect into one single film was a major stumbling block, stating: "It felt like we were always fighting the IP. What story are we going to tell in 90 to 120 minutes?" And despite the suggestion of adapting it instead for TV, Walters said, "it never picked up again after that," although it wasn't "for lack of trying".

As we said at the time, with the sudden resurgence of video game adaptions like Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, and the upcoming The Last of Us TV show and Paramount's Halo show, Mass Effect seems like a prime candidate to make the leap next. Here's hoping the project finally finds its footing in the future.

Here's our roundup of all the upcoming video game movies.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.